


Hang the Moon

by gums_guns_glocks



Series: Planetary [2]
Category: LUCIDS - Fandom
Genre: AU, Angst, Crack Treated Seriously, Family, Jasper Cult, monologues, no beta we die like men, the discord made me do it, unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:13:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29367567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gums_guns_glocks/pseuds/gums_guns_glocks
Summary: Things are complicated, but acceptance shouldn't be.~Sequel to Mars but can be read as a standalone.~
Relationships: Jasper Jasperson and Benjamin, Jasper Jasperson and Mrs Hills, Jasper Jasperson and Quinn Hills
Series: Planetary [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157012
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Hang the Moon

If you told Jasper two months ago he would currently be desperately searching through the dreamscape of a member of a now disbanded cult for his ex-kidnapper and leader of said cult turned best friend he’d have....well he probably wouldn’t have believed you but he’d be too nervous to tell you that. You must have a reason for believing this right? Who was he to judge? Anyway, point is, Jasper’s life has gone from boring to downright unrealistic. 

He’d wandered from the elementary school he’d jumped into to a small coffee shop. Apparently Benjamin’s reality didn’t have Gasball Currency and instead some weird cheap knockoff. It burned the back of Jasper’s throat as he made the walk back to the school. It’s not that he really wanted coffee in the first place, but when he’d popped up he had seen Benjamin, and panicked. Granted the guy had been about 7 or 8 but Jasper wasn’t taking any chances. Who knew what dream mumbo jumbo he could be pulling. It could all be a disguise! This world, or dreamscape, Jasper corrects himself, seemed pretty normal so far. However one could never be too careful and the coffee shop had only been a few minutes away. Plus, qualms with the bad coffee aside, dream hopping was thirsty work. 

Jasper sat down lightly on a bench, tapping his coffee cup nervously. From this vantage point he could see the front doors of the middle school, as well as two of the side doors. He didn’t really know what he was looking for. Well, he was looking for Quinn obviously. He just didn’t know what he was expecting. For Quinn to walk out the front doors with a backpack and that week’s homework? No, Jasper was more realistic than that. It was just...this was his only lead. It had to be where Quinn was. 

He’d noticed when Quinn hadn’t come home. He’d noticed when it was dark outside and the house remained silent. He’d noticed that there hadn’t been a goodbye. 

He’d considered going out to look for him. He’d considered trying to follow the dream hopping path Quinn had inevitably left. He’d considered following the plans of Quinn’s poster. 

In the end, he went to bed.

Jasper is ashamed to admit it took him a while to realize something was wrong. Really, he’d only started to suspect something was up after he’d remembered Quinn hadn’t taken anything with him. No bag, no clothes, no nothing. Not that that was an immediate cause for concern, emotions had been running high after all, but it was very un-Quinn like (Another Quinn fact. Quinn didn’t leave home without at least one mini pack of crayola markers.) That was the first clue. The catalyst had been when Benjamin had showed up. He’d knocked on Jasper’s door the first morning without Quinn while Jasper had been eating. No Robin, just Benjamin with a slightly apologetic expression. They’d stood in the doorway for a few seconds before Jasper regained enough of his bearings to usher Benjamin inside. 

It had been Mrs Hills. Quinn’s mom. She’d come while Quinn was on his walk, and something had happened between them and now Quinn was gone. Just poof. Not because of Jasper, or maybe exactly because of him. Quinn had been upset. Emotional. What if he didn’t think he could trust Jasper anymore? What if he thought going with his mom was a better alternative than coming back? No because Quinn promised he’d say goodbye which means he’d been taken by some sort of force. Some sort of manipulation. 

Jasper knocked Benjamin out, left a scribbled apology and some money. Writes out a text to his mom. He didn’t know why he left the money but it felt right. Payment for information or something. He doesn’t know, he just remembers Lumbersweats doing it once. 

Jumping into Benjamin’s dream doesn’t give a thrill, in fact it left Jasper’s insides feeling hollow. 

What if Quinn really doesn’t want to come back? It’s the thought that nags at Jasper as he watches the school with careful eyes, sipping his coffee. He assumes, (he hopes) that he does. That Quinn would uphold his half promise to Jasper. He has no motive to. But he would because it was Quinn. They were Quinn and Jasper! With Quinn at the beginning because Jasper hated starting things. Quinn wouldn't just lie to Jasper like that. But the thought still nags at Jasper.

Somewhere between knocking out Benjamin and waiting for school to end, Jasper got angry. He’s not sure at what. Not at Quinn. He couldn’t get angry at Quinn. He almost had, back when everything had first been explained, and Quinn told him that Benjamin had been trying to bring him back to his mom. The concept that Quinn had this chance, that his mom wanted him back, and he chose not to go? It swirled into a dark, bitter, petty part of Jasper. It festered and made him feel upset, sick even. Why couldn’t his dad be the same way? Why was it Jasper who got the short end of the stick, who got a dad who had only ever called once in Jasper’s life, who started a brand spanking new family and left Jasper and his mother with nothing. 

But. Quinn’s family wasn’t Jasper's family. Quinn had explained it, explained everything. Explained his life story really. Whoever that woman was she was no mother, not in Jasper’s eyes. She wasn’t Quinn’s family. She was just some woman who gave birth to him. And as far as Quinn was concerned, Jasper was the only family he wanted. The thought warms Jasper more than the coffee. He throws his cup in the trash.

The woman walking past Jasper looks familiar. He does a double take when she passes his bench, twenty minutes after he sits down. It won’t come to him from where or when, but there’s something about the pace of her steps, the set expression on her face, that he must know her. He even half stands from the bench before remembering, to talk to her means he’s has to, well, talk to her. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you view the situation, his movement catches her attention before she completely walks past. She stops and stares at him for a long minute. He stares back. There’s a distinct feeling of a deer caught in headlights.

“I’m sorry-do I know you?” She asks politely, turning fully and walking slowly back to the bench. Now that she’s closer Jasper can tell he hasn’t seen her face before. The feeling hasn’t disappeared but he’s sure of it now. They have never met. She just feels familiar for some reason.

“Uh-no?” He mumbles out of the corner of his mouth. She nods, still looking him up and down. Her eyes are piercing and he shrinks back in spite of himself. “Sorry.” 

“Right.” She says after a few more seconds. “Must be my mistake.” She turns to walk away. Then he remembers. This is someone from Benjamin's reality. They could help him find Quinn!

“Wait!” He burst out, bolting upwards. She stops and turns back to him. Immediately, nerves grip him, making him unable to speak for a few moments. “Uh...Sorry I-I-I’m just waiting for someone? Maybe you’ve seen him around?” At her confused expression he adds on. “His name is Quinn?” 

Time freezes. 

“Quinn?” She’s staring at him hard now.

“Uh..yes? Yeah i think so” Is Quinn like a swear in this reality? Did Jasper just offend some random lady on the street? Is he going to get beat up by said random lady on the street? A flash of recognition passes across her face and she speaks, interrupting his spiral. 

“You’re Jasper.”

“Uh-yeah, wait how did you know that-” She beckons him with one sharp hand movement. 

“I think we should have a chat. This way.” Because he has no other options, he follows.

~~~

“Sit down.” 

Jasper shifts awkwardly in the kid sized chair he’s sat down in. They’re in an empty classroom, scribble doodles of second graders lining the doorway. Quite a few posters on the walls. Mostly cat posters. The strange woman sits down behind the desk at the front of the class, hands crossed in front of her. He tries to not think too hard about the fact she locked the door behind them. 

“You’re Jasper.” She repeats. Looking up at her he nods once, slowly. “Jasper from the cult. Quinn’s Jasper." When he blinks she scoffs. "Of course, how could I be so foolish? Of course you would go looking for him.”

“Wait wait-you know Quinn?” he blurts out. She levels a look at him and it clicks. The eyes. He knows those eyes like his own. “You’re his mom.”

“He spoke about me?” She inquires, eyebrows raising. Even though her expression barely changes Jasper can tell the outburst threw her. But he can barely find it in his whirling mind to care. Because this is Quinn’s mom. Mrs Hills. 

His anger is back. He wants to shatter.

“Yeah he did” He says instead. It doesn’t feel right to be sitting anymore so he stands, holding his hands out in front of him. The chair nicks his foot and topples over. The sound it makes as it hits the tile makes Mrs Hills flinch. “He talked about you. How you-you ruined things for him.” He whirls back around to face her. “He hates you.” He finishes, ignoring the way her expression dims with pain. 

“I’m well aware.” She replies coldly. “Now if you could please sit back down-”

“How could you?” She stutters to a stop once again. Jasper has no clue what he’s thinking, confronting a very real, very intimidating person like this. There's no logic. Except. That this is the woman, the woman Quinn told him about, the one who abandoned him when he needed someone most. That woman is right in front of Jasper, looking almost unbothered and he can’t stand it. Telling him to sit down in that condescending voice. “How could you..do that to him? Abandon him?”

“It far more complicated than that-”

“No no, complicated is what you say before taking your highschool diplomas. You want to talk about complicated? Complicated is finding out your entire life has been a dream! Complicated is becoming a magic dream hopping, Netflix mini series style crazy person! Which you only did because you care about this random guy you haven’t even known for a year! Who, just so you know, started a cult in your name, and had an entire kidnapping plan against you.” He pauses to take a breath. His voice is shaking and nerves creep up his spine but he forces them down. Gesturing around him he continues. “Life is complicated. I get that. You think I don’t get that? But loving your kid? That’s not complicated.” Jasper is shaking by the end of his tirade. Staring down at his hands, his vision blurs. “That shouldn’t be complicated.”

Mrs Hills is silent for so long, Jasper has to look at her again. She’s staring at him thoughtfully before realization passes across her expression. He can see the similarities between her and Quinn again. Their eyes crinkle in the same way when they're impressed.

“I can see why he likes you.” Her voice is softer than before. Jasper can’t help but keep staring at her, swallowing. “You must make him very happy.”

“I-” Jasper shrugs helplessly. He’s used up all his speaking abilities it seems. Luckily Mrs Hills fills the silence.

“You know I didn’t understand at first. Why he cares for you so much.” She smiled ruefully. “The way he talks about you. Like you hung the moon just so he could see it at night.” When Jasper doesn’t respond she clears her throat and rises from her chair. All business again, like there’s a switch in her back that turns off her emotions. “I don’t expect you understand my motivations, and you’ve made it clear you do not want to. But you care for my son and I see that now. He needs someone like that, someone he will let in. It is very clear like I am not that person.”

“You don’t deserve to be that person.” Jasper fires back without thinking. Mrs Hills barely registers it.

“Can you promise me you’re being truthful? With what you just said?” She asks.

“What?” He replies, blinking through his hair. 

“It’s a very simple question.”

“Uh-Yes?” Yes. It’s not even a question. Knowing how everything affected Quinn, no one should have to deal with that. That feeling like if you had just been more maybe they’d have stayed. They would’ve wanted you to stay. The voice of Jasper's father whispered past his ear. He pushes back forcefully. Now is not the time for James Jasperson Magic Road to Self-Love in Ten Thousand Easy Steps. That man isn't his family. Just like Mrs Hills isn't Quinn's. Not anymore. They're each other's family now. That's all he needs. 

“Grand. Follow me.” With that, Mrs Hills slips out from behind the desk and towards the door. Doesn’t wait for him, just unlocks the door and exits the classroom. Presumably heading to where Quinn is. Jasper takes one last, long look around the room, from the chair lying on its side, to the cat poster on the whiteboard. It reads ‘Hang in There!’. He smiles at it, rubbing a hand against his neck. 

He follows Mrs Hills. For his family.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey world it's me again. Wishing I could have what Jasper and Quinn have.


End file.
